Unnatural Death - Book 4

Unnatural Death is the third Lord Peter Wimsey book by Dorothy L. Sayers.  Just by happenstance, Wimsey finds out about a peculiar situation where a old woman, dying of cancer, suddenly dies earlier than supposed by the doctor.  There is no cause of death except heart failure, but the doctor really thought she had 2 or 3 months longer to live.  Lord Peter Wimsey thinks maybe it is the perfect crime and begins to investigate dragging along his friend, Inspector Parker.

Bunter, the perfect manservant, doesn't do much here, and we hardly hear about other recurring side characters, like Peter's mother, the Dowager Duchess, instead we are introduced to the delightful Miss Climpson.  Lord Peter hires her as an assistant and she is happy to do her part.  She is a devout Ango-Catholic spinster, full of common sense and spunk.

While Lord Peter is on the trail of the killer, two more murders occur, one of which Lord Peter feels partly responsible for.  The plot is quite good and has a lot to it.  The story moves along at a great pace, so it was hard to put down.

A couple of things I noted.  One, this book has a lot of women in it.  And the women don't particularly like men.  We have two old friends who lived together for years, and nowadays would have been considered lesbians, I am sure.  I don't know if Sayers was intimating that or not.  Then we have the suspect herself and her own dealings with women and men.  In contrast to these we have Miss Climpson.  Another thing noted, having to do with the depiction of minorities:  there are a couple of references to Jews, though again, not really demeaning, but maybe so?  I can't tell.  There is also the use of the 'n' word for a person of mixed Indian heritage.  As in Clouds of Witness though (in reference to the Jewish financier), the character who is spoken of so disparagingly by some of the people, is actually completely innocent and a fine, humble person.  So Sayers seemed to be highlighting the ignorance of those bigoted people, instead of maligning the minority.

In one scene Lord Peter asks a priest (I am not sure if he is a Roman Catholic priest or Anglican?) whether euthanasia is wrong.  The priest gives a very good answer back.  This mystery was published in 1927, almost 100 years ago, but this particular issue made it seem so contemporary.

The other thing I enjoyed in the book was the positive portrayal of lawyers!  Solicitors they are called over there (barristers are the ones that actually plead in court, I believe).  Much of the case turns on the old lady's will and a certain Act that changed how one inherited intestate.  Eons ago I went to law school and that part of me (buried for years now under motherhood and homeschooling!) revived and enjoyed that bit of the story.  Sayers really seemed to know her law.

Two thumbs up!  A very satisfactory and enjoyable mystery.  I am so glad Sayers wrote the Lord Peter Wimsey books!

For more book reviews, go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.

Giving up Caffeine for Lent

I am a heavy caffeine addict and have been for decades.  I love both coffee and tea and will drink it all day long if I don't watch it.  It can affect my sleep and it affects other things too, which I won't go into but I have had the suspicion, for a long time now, that I would feel better in the long run if I at least took a significant break from constantly infusing my body with this particular drug.

I have tried to give it up before and got horrible headaches, overwhelming fatigue, bad, grumpy moods.  So I am trying to systematically wean myself off of it, slowly, so that by or around Ash Wednesday (2/10) I am relatively free of the stuff.  I do think if I get a migraine, once I have weaned down to zero or almost zero, I will let myself have a little bit for medicinal purposes, but only for that.

Last week I was letting myself have 2 cups of coffee in the a.m. and then if I wanted more, switching to decaf (I know decaf still has some caffeine in it).  I also was allowing myself only 1 cup of regular tea and then after that only decaf tea.

This week I switched to half caffeinated cups in the morning with only decaf later.  But still one cup of regular tea (though I am choosing smaller tea cups to drink out of, instead of a big mug of tea).  I was afraid this would be too sudden and I'd get headaches, but that hasn't happened.  I have felt rather heavy-headed if that's a word, kind of droopy and slow witted.  And I've been taking short naps again in the afternoon (just about 10 or 15 minutes).  And I've been sleeping later.  Today I woke at 8.  Usually I get up between 5:30 and 6:30 naturally.  Maybe, though it isn't naturally.  Maybe I get up that early because of all the caffeine in my system!

I am trying to decide what to cut out next.   I am thinking I will switch to decaf tea only in the afternoon, unless I am so sleepy and have to do some driving or something where I will be in fear of my and other people's lives!  Then I might have a small cup of tea.  Since I only have 10 days until Ash Wednesday, I think I will do this through Thursday, but on Friday I will begin to go down to half caff for one cup, decaf for the rest.  I might not be able to cut out all caffeine on Ash Wed and the following Thursday just because I am going to be very busy those two days and need to be able to function.  So I am aiming for the first Friday in Lent to be my first caffeine free day (well, except for decaf coffee, which does have a little bit in it).

I think my goal is to be down to one decaf cup each morning and then find other hot drinks to drink throughout the day.  The Trader Joe's French Roast decaf tastes pretty good.  I grind it in the store.  It is organic and Free Trade and made from Arabica beans which are lower in caffeine to begin with.  They use the water method of decaffeinating which isn't quite as effective as the solvent method but it doesn't use yucky chemicals either.

I have to look into Teeccino as well.    Maybe at some point I'll give up decaf and go herbal.  I will still need to keep some coffee in the house for migraine emergencies or for other guests who might want a nice cup of full octane coffee!

Anyway, this post is probably really boring for anyone not interested in giving up caffeine, but it was good for me to write it out.  Makes it seem much more definite to me.  I have got a plan!  God help me!  This is actually rather scary for me, I am so dependent on it.  Both physically and psychologically.

Youtube is my best friend!

We watched Bishop Barron on Rene Girard.  I had heard of the idea of the scapegoat before, but I didn't really understand it.  Powerful, deep stuff!

Watched lecture on Vincent Van Gogh.  I just discovered this guy on youtube, Kenny Mencher.  I haven't previewed the other videos* but this one on Van Gogh was great.  For one thing I'd never heard the idea that van Gogh didn't try to slice off his own ear but that it might have been his housemate Paul Gaughin!  And also that there is evidence that van Gogh didn't kill himself but was accidentally shot by two kids playing in a field.  He didn't want the kids to get into trouble so he said that he shot himself.  So even though van Gogh did have mental health issues, they might not have been as bad as people have thought.  I also love that Mencher, who I don't believe is religious at all, talks about The Starry Night in terms of St. Augustine's City of God.

*Actually, I went on an art history binge while everyone else was watching the debate.  I had to do something to soothe myself!  Anyway, I think Mencher doesn't always get it right in terms of religion but he is an excellent lecturer.  He handled the nudity in prehistorical and Greek art very nicely.  So I think I am going to be watching a lot more of his lectures.

Periodic Videos - We just finished Rhodium.  These videos are really fun and informative.

Elements of the Catholic Mass - I just discovered this and didn't get to them this week.  We'll start on Monday.

Some Links. In Praise of Women!

Being snowed in, I've started listening to podcasts.  There's a whole world out there!  And there are a bunch of them out there, the purpose of which is to comfort and encourage others.

Everyday Snapshots, a blog by Pam Barnhill, that I hadn't visited for a long while, has a great selection of podcasts for the homeschooling mom.  I listened to:

Melissa Wiley - which was fantastic.  I love Melissa's style.  She's a treasure!

Susan Wise Bauer - this was really fascinating to me.  You really get one image of SWB when you read The Well Trained Mind, and quite another when you hear her talk.  I found this very encouraging.

*****

Danielle Bean - I looked at the links on my blog today and saw that Karen Edmisten was posting about her interview with Danielle.  The first half of the podcast is on how to yell less at your kids.  Very helpful stuff.  This isn't just for homeschooling moms but any parent, really.  Karen's interview ties into Heather King video mentioned below.

*****

I love Heather King's spirituality.  She has some videos of herself which I found very thought-provoking. These aren't about parenting or homeschooling but are very much about living a life infused with profound faith.   I especially loved the one on the Vocation of Writing.  When you get to her blog, scroll down a bit and look for the videos in the left hand column.

Cinnamon Sugar Pancakes and Scalloped Potatoes

I am still in cooking mode.  I've got take advantage of it as long as I can, since most of the time I am not into it at all.

B invented a nice twist on regular pancakes yesterday morning.  First of all, making pancakes with coconut oil is really great.  It imparts a nice light coconut flavor which is quite yummy.  You just have to be careful to not put too much of it in the pan, just a nice coating is all you need.  Otherwise it does make the pancake a little greasy.  I always have to watch my flame because it is really hard to get just the right level on my gas stove.  It's either just a little bit too low or a little bit too high, so I am constantly adjusting it when making pancakes.  Anyway, B's twist is that you put your pancake batter into the pan and while it is cooking you liberally sprinkle cinnamon sugar on the upper side of pancake before you flip it over to cook on the other side.

Delicious!

Scalloped Potatoes

This a rich dish - but it served as our main dish, since we are pseudo-vegetarian around here anymore.  I kind of combined a couple of different recipes I found on line, since I didn't have exactly the same ingredients (namely cream and onions).

I thinly sliced about 7 red potatoes (I peeled them first) 2 were pretty big as far as red potatoes go and the other 5 were small.   I used the side of my cheese grater which has a sort of mandolin feature to it.  I have an actual mandolin but it scares because it is so sharp and I don't seem to be able to use it the right way.

I put the potatoes in a buttered casserole dish.

To make the sauce:

5 tablespoons of butter

5 tablespoons of all purpose flour

a small dollop of minced garlic (from a jar)

2 cups of whole milk

About a teaspoon of salt

Black pepper to taste

I melted the butter in a heavy saucepan, stirred in the garlic and then slowly whisked in the flour.

Then I slowly whisked in the 2 cups of milk, making a very nice, smooth sauce.

Then I added in the salt and pepper.

I dotted the potatoes with a little bit of butter too, before I poured the milk sauce over them.

I grated a bit of parmesan cheese over the top.

Baked at 350 for an hour.

The last five minutes of baking, I removed the lid of the casserole and sprinkled some paprika on.

We had this with a big tossed salad.

Vegetarian Chili

I made chili for the first time last night and it was delicious!  Absolutely scrumptious!

Since Seano has gone vegetarian, it has been really tricky cooking for everyone.  Rick has basically stopped eating dinner at home.  Not that he ever ate at home much because he usually gets home from work late, like 8 or 9 p.m.  And he usually eats a big lunch around 2 or 3, so he's just feeling snacky as opposed to hungry for a big dinner.  So then he usually just snacks on peanuts or he makes himself a pb&j and has a glass of milk and he's fine.  I do wish we were the type of family that ate dinner together more, but we aren't and never have been, really.

Anyway, Seano ate really delicious chili over at Hannah's house a few weeks ago and he kept raving about it.  So I asked Hannah for the recipe.  She had just googled around and found this one.

Well, I looked at it and we are snowed in and I wasn't about to go out to the store to get the ingredients I didn't have, so I substituted a lot.  It came out great!  So here's what I put into it:

1 cup of chopped bell peppers (I just cleared out the starting to wilt peppers I had in my fridge drawer.)

1 half large yellow onion, chopped finely - since I didn't have as much onion as the original recipe called for, I did add a hearty sprinkle of minced onion too.)

2 jalapeno peppers - I don't usually have these on hand, or if I do, they are canned.  This was my first time ever cooking with real jalapeno peppers.

2 tablespoons of minced garlic (I have a big jar of already minced)

3 medium sized carrots - chopped into small chunks

4 stalks of celery - chopped into small chunks

1 large portobello mushroom cap - chopped into small chunks

1 large red potato - chopped into small chunks

2 tablespoons of sunflower oil

2 cans (14.5 oz)  of fire roasted tomatoes

2 cans (15 oz) of black beans

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 and 1/4 tsp of salt (I used sea salt)

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon cumin seed (I didn't have crushed or powdered cumin)

So I heated the oil and then dumped in the garlic, onion, peppers, carrots and celery and stirred it around for a few minutes until it wilted and softened.  Then I added in the potato and mushroom and let that burbled for a bit. Then I remembered I was supposed to add spices!  So I added all that and let it burble some more.  Then I added in the cans of tomato and beans.  The liquid from the cans was enough.  I didn't need to add in any stock or water or anything.  I let that burble on the stove at a very low simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally to keep it from sticking to the bottom.  I used my heavy Creuset casserole. (A Christmas gift from a few years ago).  The chili got nice and thick and the perfect chili consistency.  In the meantime, I cooked up some rice in my rice cooker.  I also grated up some cheddar cheese to sprinkle on top.

When it was time to eat, I served the chili over the rice in bowls and sprinkled the cheese on top.  It was fantastic!  Definitely a keeper and a great dish to make and serve on a cold snowy day.

The Thirty Nine Steps - Book 3

The Thirty Nine Steps was written by Scottish author John Buchan back in 1915.  It has been made into several movies including Hitchcock's 1939 one starting Robert Donat.  You can see it for free on youtube. The latest adaption was back in 2008.  I caught most of that Masterpiece Theatre version.  You can also see this on youtube.  Both these versions differ greatly from the original.  The Thirty Nine Steps has been called the first major example of the 'man on the run' trope.

The story opens when our hero, Richard Hannay, has come back from a long stay in Rhodesia to the mother country.  Actually he was born in Scotland but moved to Africa when he was 6.  Now he's 37, well off and had been excited about moving to London.  But he finds he is terribly bored by the stuffiness and complacency.  His boredom soon comes to an end when another tenant in the building where his flat is, suddenly and urgently seeks refuge from him.  It seems this neighbor, whose last name is Scudder, is an American spy who has uncovered secrets from the Germans and the whole stability of Europe hangs in the balance.  Scudder though, is murdered while staying with Hannay and Hannay is the prime suspect.  Not knowing who to trust, and with both the spies and the police hot on his trail, Hannay runs to Scotland to try to find the one person who could possibly help him.

The 1915 book is purely a guy book and the audience who most appreciated it, apparently, were the soldiers in the foxholes fighting World War I at the time.  Hannay cleverly and desperately outsmarts his pursuers, gets caught but escapes, has to rely on strangers, who being independent and authority leery Scotch, are willing to help.  The movies stick in a romance which wasn't there in the original story, and while the Hitchock movie is great, it is kind of silly too.

The character of Hannay was so popular Buchan went on to write several more books about him.  At the very end of this first book, Hannay is entering the military to fight in WWI.

I found the book really interesting.  Again, though, there are mentions about Jews and financiers.  Must every British mystery of this time period have some sort of anti-semitism in it?  They certainly had issues!  (Of course, maybe you can say the same of American literature at that time with African Americans)

I found the lack of a romantic interest kind of refreshing.  I started rewatching the 2008 version and they really put a ridiculous twist on things that had me rolling my eyes.  I couldn't finish watching it.  The script was trying too hard with the love interest and they strayed too far from the story in a heavy-handed way.

Anyway, I found reading the original worthwhile.  Two thumbs up!

For more book reviews, go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.

More Bad Snow Photos

Because there is nothing else to do!

Actually, I am so happy we didn't lose power!  Thank God!  I spent all day yesterday waiting for it to go out and it didn't!

Here's the bench in the front garden again:

Rick, Josh and Sean dug out a pathway to the driveway and then did a lot of slow blowing down the long driveway.  During this however both the snow shovel and snow blower broke.

Here's a view out the window at the backyard.  I kind of like the effect of the shot through the screen.

Here's a shot of our screen porch, covered in snow.  I had no idea we had a fan out there.  I probably put it out there in the summer time and then stopped noticing it!  I do that sort of thing!

A bad photo of the snowfall so far

This was taken around 7:15 Saturday a.m.

Update photo  (11.40 a.m.)

I don't think the snow looks much higher than the early morning photo.

It's Snowing!

We are bracing for the big blizzard coming our way.  I heard on public radio we were supposed to only get an inch today and it wasn't supposed to start until 3, but they were a little off.  It started around 1:30 (or maybe a bit earlier) and it is coming down pretty steadily.  It must already be more than an inch.  Maybe its 2 or even three inches.  I am looking at the fence rail outside and trying to guess.  But I am bad that sort of thing!  It is supposed to get really heavy and windy as the night proceeds and be really bad tomorrow.

So Rick and the boys brought a bunch of firewood up to the screen porch so we can keep a fire going.  I have been washing lots of clothes and blankets so we can put on lots of layers and bundle up for when the power goes out and we start to freeze.

We've got flashlights and camping lanterns out.  We've got lots of pb&j and pop tarts, milk and cereal to see us through a couple of days of no power.  We have one burner that works when the electricity goes out, so I can still drink tea and make hot chocolate and soup.  I told everybody to take a nice long hot shower today because we might not be able to for a couple days.

We've charged everything we can charge so we can still use our phones, read on the kindle and play scrabble on the ipad.  We've also got a big jigsaw puzzle out on the dining room table and of course we've got board games to play.

I hope all this prep means that we won't lose power, because that happened once before for a couple of days and we were COLD!  And I didn't like being that cold. I am a big baby.

I am praying for all those people who made it to the March for Life and for anybody who still has to be out there in the snow, especially the homeless.

Some links! In praise of men!

Someone in our homeschool group sent this link out.  Made me tear up.  Fatherhood is a beautiful thing! http://www.intothebreach.net/

Dr. Peter Leithhart - this goes along with habits in the bigger sense of the word.  It also fits in with the Into the Breach theme.  The audio was a little soft on my laptop though.  It's 45 minutes long or thereabouts, but really thought-provoking and inspiring.

Lastly, I loved this review by Father Barron on the movie The Bridge of Spies.  I love the kind of manly integrity put forth here.  The rule of law is what it takes to keep a community civilized.  And that means that brave men need to make sure the government is honest when prosecuting even the most repulsive law breakers among us.  It's either that or corruption and mob violence.  Now I really want to see this movie.

Oops!  I've got a couple more.

Here's a great article about a guy living out the 'Benedict Option.'

In praise of reasonable men!  My favorite Great Courses professor.

Clouds of Witness - Book 2

Who is this woman?  Why is she on the cover of this book?

Clouds of Witness is the second Lord Peter Wimsey mystery in the series of novels by Dorothy L. Sayers.  In it, Wimsey's own brother, the Duke, is accused of murdering their sister's fiancee, Denis Cathcart.  The usual characters of Charles Parker, police detective and Wimsey's best friend, Bunter his loyal and supremely capable manservant, his erudite Dowager mother who always speaks in a stream-of-consciousness way, but with authority, as well Sir Impey Biggs and Freddie Arbuthnot, are all here.  And even Inspector Sugg makes an appearance at the end.

The plot is pretty complicated with Lord Peter and Parker finding out first which suspects didn't do the murder and discovering that a lot of people had something going on the night of the murder.  Sayers manages to deftly skewer the hip young communists at the time (maybe mid 1920s) who are full idealism but not too much common sense or actual courage.  And she also pokes fun at the stuffy lords trying their own peer for murder.  There is a lot of character development here.

As usual with Lord Peter there are many fun literary references and he is goofy and learned all at the same time.  There are a couple elements that kind of stretch one's disbelief a bit too far.  For instance, Lord Peter seems to recover remarkably quickly from a bullet wound and broken collar bone, so much so that a couple days afterwards he is traipsing around the Yorkshire bogs, sinks into quicksand, has to be rescued and never even mentions his wound!  It seems like Sayers forgot that he had been indeed badly injured.  And then I tend not to like it when mystery writers let you, the reader, into the clues but then suddenly make everything obscure so she or he can surprise you the reader later.  I feel a bit cheated!

But overall, a really fun and interesting mystery.  Lord Peter is a gem!

I bought this on my kindle for .99. Don't get that version!  It is very poorly transcribed and has lots of missing words for some crazy reason.  So I bought another version for $3.95.  That one was great except for an occasional weird character thrown in at the end of a word here and there.  Kind of a capital O with a weird marking over it.  Why does that happen on the Kindle anyway?

Two thumbs up!  For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.

Tiny Habits

So there's this thing you can do called Tiny Habits.  I half-heartedly started off with it, and even though I don't think I'll continue with it formally, I do love the idea.  I think it probably works with many people, but for me I felt like I didn't invest enough time into figuring it out and then it quickly became just another box to check on the to do list.

Anyway, it did change my thinking somewhat, or rather it awakened the idea of 'pegging.'  Pegging is something I first heard about from Leonie of the Catholic Unschoolers group.  She would peg certain new things onto certain other things that she knew she'd be doing.

Tiny habits breaks things down into really small steps and then pegs one thing you do already to some little thing you want to start doing.  So the recipe as he calls it is After I do such and such, I will do such and such.

So I started out with:

After I start the coffee, I will drink a glass of water
After the coffee is ready, I will read the Bible and pray.

Now both of these were things I already did but was inconsistent about, so thinking in this way made me more consistent.  In fact, I've been consistent since January 1st, so that's 12 days!!!! Woot for me!

You are supposed to do 3 things and I did not develop the habit for the 3rd thing which I think was my fault for making it too vague.

Anyway, I started another two that are related, yesterday.

After I turn on the TV, I will spend 5 minutes on the elliptical.  I tend to watch the news at 6, so this works for me (though yesterday I was in the middle of preparing dinner so I didn't do the elliptical right at the beginning of the show, but a few minutes later, when I had everything under control, cooking wise for long enough to exercise for 5 minutes).

After each new show starts, I will do 5 minutes on the elliptical.  (I did another 5 minutes when a bit later in the evening we started watching an old movie).

But anyway, I love that I got a mini-elliptical for Christmas and I can easily just do a few minutes on it at a time.

I got the idea of 5 minutes at a time because Rick's fitbit thing beeps to remind him to move for 5 minutes out of every hour.  And I was just reading a book on will power that talked about how much movement and activity is good for the brain.  And it turns out it isn't working out that is what helps so much as just moving, as in not being so sedentary.  The author of the book said just taking a 5 minute walk or getting up and doing some housework also all helps.  And for me, I get so stiff if I sit too long, so it is really good to have that elliptical there and to connect it with watching TV.

Again, I couldn't think of a 3rd little habit to start.  I might just be better at doing two at a time instead of three.

Fused Glass Plate

Seano made this in his fused glass workshop.  I love it!  I am terrible photographer though, so it doesn't do it justice, but I think it is pretty good for someone who's never worked with glass before!

Whose Body? - Book 1

This is my first completed book in 2016.  I abandoned the other three books I was bogged down in and decided I was only going to read for pleasure and not out of a sense of duty!

This is a reread from many years ago.  Whose Body?  is the first Lord Peter Wimsey mystery written by Dorothy L. Sayers.  In it we are introduced to charming Lord Peter and his perfect manservant, Bunter.  Lord Peter is a learned and rich aristocrat who loves to collect expensive old books and quote Latin.  He comes off as a bit quirky, but underneath his chatter is a mind like a steel trap.  He also, though, still suffers from shell shock from his time in World War 1.  It is also hinted at that he was jilted after the war and that further exacerbated his breakdown.

He has a friend police detective, Parker, who can be Lord Peter's intellectual companion but also steadies his more whimsical characteristics.  Since this is a British novel written in the 20s there are quite a few references to 'semites' and "Hebrews' even though the man in question is a nice guy.  The British certainly did have their issues there.

This was a very enjoyable, intelligent and satisfying mystery story, even if a bit grisly in terms of the cold way in which human dissection is discussed.  It has got a couple of really creepy moments.

Two thumbs up!  I am really happy to be revisiting Lord Peter.

For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.

Get ready! Here it comes!

Getting ready.  I feel that is what this weekend is about.  I've only been going at half-speed, but all that is about to change.  Monday, S starts his Music Theory class.  We are such bozos we forgot to get the textbooks and his class starts Monday at 9.  So we were going to go in today and buy them in the bookstore, but then we looked on Amazon and could get them all a good bit cheaper and they were all available for Sunday delivery for free.  So that's what we were doing last night!  Ordering textbooks.

J went to his orientation yesterday.  He kept forgetting to sign up for it and this was the very last one.  Rick and I keep exchanging glances.  Does procrastinating about going to orientation bode well?  Hmmm.  Anyway, he went and he came back all excited!  But instead of signing up for the classes we thought he was going to sign up for, he's decided to work towards an AA in business management.  Originally he was just going to take an Intro to Business and an Intro to Accounting to see if he liked the subject matter and then he'd decide.  And we even said to him we don't think it is a good idea to start with a writing heavy course because that is what sunk him in his foray into college two years ago.  But no, he came back and announced he's taking Pre-Calc and College Composition.  Huh?  But honestly he seems sincerely excited about it. He started talking about how a lot of the guys who work for a few years at the marina move over to work for the Park authority (the marina has a lot of interaction with the park adjacent to it).  But you have to have a BA and experience.  He'll get experience working at the marina and he'll get his BA or at least an AA.  With the AA he can transfer to another 4 year college if he wants to.  He likes the idea of working full time and just taking a few classes at a time.  So this might take a while!  But anyway, he's got a plan!  He's also taking a college study skills class (1 credit).  So his schedule is working at the marina Saturday through Wednesday,  Wed night College Composition, 7:15 - 9:55, Thur night Pre-Calc 7:15 - 9:55, Fridays 11:00a.m. - 11:50a.m. a hybrid study skills course (only lasts for the 1st half of the semester).

I looked up the teachers on rate my professors.  Happily the college composition teacher got rave reviews.  I do hope this is when he gets over his mental block about writing.  The truth is he is an average writer.  He isn't terrible.  It is just really, really painful for him to put words on paper.  But he actually can write, if he's given a lot of time and isn't too overwhelmed.  I know how his mind works and he thinks in bullet points.  It is so hard for him to flesh out those bullet points into a smooth flowing paragraph.  He just flounders.  I told him the standards for writing at Christendom and writing at the community college were probably going to be two different things.  At Christendom they expected a high quality and quantity of writing continually.  Here he'll have time to write. The reviews said the teacher only assigns 5 essays over the course of the semester and she gives lots of guidance and time to rewrite.  So that really sounds as ideal as you can get for J's  particular issues with writing.

The reviews for the pre-calc teacher were very mixed.  However, J is so good at math.  The only reason he is still at the pre-calc level is that he went in to take the math placement test after three years of having no math.  He did no prep or anything.  He covered this stuff back in his junior year (at a high school level anyway).  He should be way, way further in his math studies by now, if he were a motivated academic student, which he is not!  Anyway, the point is I don't think he'll have any trouble with the pre-calc, even if the teacher is so-so.

So maybe this will work out!    Hope springs eternal!

Anyway, I am using this weekend to get everything in place so that, so that we are all ready to launch come Monday morning.

I guess I better get moving!

Some links

Some links!

Parenting advice I agree with!

Let them play!

I am so happy to see this kind of thing being reported by the Catholic press.

Have you see this beautiful video produced by the Vatican?

This is My Home, This is My School

If you homeschool, you must get this wonderful picture book!  The illustrations are absolutely fantastic and it is a realistic and heartwarming recollection of what homeschooling is from the child's perspective.

My youngest is 14 and yet I still had to have this picture book!

1st day back journal

Our sleep schedules got so bad over the break, so I was mean today and woke the kids at 9 a.m!

9:30 breakfast school (except nobody ate breakfast)
Mass readings for today
Saint:  Feast of Elizabeth Ann Seton
Element - we revisited rubidium because we couldn't remember which elements video we'd last watched three or more weeks ago.
Read from Plutarch - Demosthenes
Copy work - quote from Frederick Douglass
S did math - actually just 2 problems
I took shower while B read Pride and Prejudice
S took shower
B and I sat and watched Geometry video and took notes
B went back to Pride and Prejudice
Fought with printers; had to call Rick to get help with his printer up in our bedroom.  We have 3 printers (!) only one of which seems to be working.
Printed out note taking sheets for history.
B opted to read P&P while S took notes and I read history textbook out loud.  Did one sheet out of 3.
Went to Elevation burger for lunch.  Very expensive.  S tried the veggie burger but didn't like it.  I tried one too but put so many condiments on it I couldn't taste it.  B got just a burger.
Went to library - got books on Custer for paper S needs to write, due a week from tomorrow.
Came back - not sure what B did, but S and I went through his new chemistry set and checked out all the equipment in it.
S worked out with physical trainer
B was supposed to be doing history but wasn't.  When I reminded her though she did sit down and worked on it.
Took a break before dinner - made cheesy cauliflower and polenta with veggies.
After dinner - reviewed some Latin and watched a couple Latin youtube videos from Latin Tutorials
R came home - talked to S about his paper on Custer and helped him with some math
B read some of her Physical Science book she's supposed to be notebooking.
Something I ate did not agree with me.  Maybe I can not eat too much cauliflower!
Went to bed at 11, B dutifully brought me her ipod.  I had told S to go to bed at 11, but at 12:40 at night got up and found him downstairs still playing computer games.  GRRRRR.
Between not feeling well and being annoyed at S, it took a while to get back to sleep and thus overslept the next morning.  GRRR some more!

Book Aspirations for 2016

First of all I don't think I will participate in any of the books challenges going around for 2016.  Except, of course, for my beloved 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge.  That I will still strive for.  And I do have the five year Classics challenge, so I hope to incorporate some of those books into my reading this new year.  And I have my own personal challenge of reading through the Bible.  So that's plenty.  I really, truly hope to start my masters in Theology this summer.  I was too overwhelmed this year but once the school year is up I hope I can really focus, and that will take up more reading time.

I am thinking mostly in terms of authors I'd like to read or read more of:

By trying to do the King William's College Quiz, I realized I have forgotten every Lord Peter Wimsey story I've read, except for The Nine Tailors so I'd like to reread all those.

I'd like to read some John Buchan novels too (this is also inspired by making several of his novels answers to questions in the King William's College Quiz).

From reading Minds More Awake, I am inspired to read more books by Louisa May Alcott and George MacDonald.

I'd also like to read more Anthony Trollope.  I read Barchester Towers years ago.  I think I might go back and reread that and then start on the rest of the series.

For nonfiction - I need to keep up with my husband.  I've got to read Alexander Hamilton by Chernow.  The musical Hamilton is huge around here because of Becky and my husband read the book a couple years ago and talks about how good it is.  And now he is into reading books about Lincoln.

For religious books, I don't have any in mind except for reading more by Father Michael Gaitley.

Right now, I am in the middle of three books all good, but I seem to be in a slump of some sort, so I am reading slowly.

I just rediscovered, to my delight, a book blog that I used to frequent several years ago.  It is still going strong!  I think I will make it one of my regular blogs to visit.  Check out Semicolon, if you haven't already!

Plans for Spring Semester 2016

This coming semester is going to be a bear!  Sean is going to be taking Music Theory 1 at the community college.  These means I have to drive him every Monday and Thursday a.m. plus he has to go in for lab time at some other point in the week.  The campus is only about 15 or 20 minutes away when there is no traffic.  However, when there is traffic it is a good 30+.  And they've been doing construction on the road for months now so the traffic has been terrible.  Also, once I drop him off, I have to fight rush hour traffic going in the same direction (I am going against it when I take him).  So boo hiss!  Friday mornings I already face this to take him to his math tutor.  Not looking forward to this!

But to make it hopefully not dead time in the car, I want to try to listen to some classic on cd going to and from.  So I am looking into that.  I want to come up with a selection and then let Sean choose.

This also means that our 'breakfast school' which consists of Scripture reading, saint of the day, some other educational short video (this year Elements and MusicTheory.net) and copy work is going to have to move around a lot.  So it looks like it will go:

Monday - breakfast school at lunch!
Tuesday - breakfast school
Wednesday - breakfast school
Thursday - breakfast school at dinner (and maybe I should make that dinner menu breakfast for dinner!  The kids always like it when we do that.)
Friday - we have a different schedule - so we don't do it on this day anyway.

In addition to our regular breakfast school, I have been inspired to study Plutarch's Lives.  I've been wanting to do this for a while, and now realize that with Sean it is probably now or never!  So we will add on to our breakfast school this and then this.  This is kind of a continuation of the Speech and Communications on line class the kids took with Homeschool Connections which they really enjoyed and I think, learned quite a bit.

Because I just read Minds More Awake and because I just saw this lovely curriculum in the making, I got inspired to try to be more formally CM than we have been.  So I polled B about the following:

What composer would you like to study this semester?  She said Pachelbel and Baroque music in general.

What artist would you like to study?  Vincent van Gogh - so a trip to the art gallery is in store sometime this semester, as well as books out from the library and we hope to read his letters to his brother Theo as well.

What classic book do you want to read this semester (other than the teen book club)? Pride and Prejudice. (A girl after my own heart!)

Which Shakespeare play would you like to study?  She thought about it and then said, what is Othello about?  Turns out Othello is playing at a theater near us in March. So Othello it is!